Happy Birthday to Me!

So today was my birthday...I love my birthday.



My best birthday ever was when I turned 17. The Wednesday before, I had just moved to Maine for a semester. My birthday was the first Sunday while we were there, and it was just a perfect day--the first of so many while I lived there. My mom had sent a bunch of presents with me when I left, and I opened them one at a time throughout the day--which is the greatest way to open presents. I remember really loving them, too. I got a birthday s'more from one of my teachers, who had a bonfire going almost right out my front door. I got an amazing colorful HUGE card (more like a banner really) from my cabinmates. It was a gorgeous sunny but chilly winter day (my favorite type of day).

That birthday always stands out to me.

None of them before then I really remember, though my mom always made birthdays fun in our house. I turned 21 and 22 in Spain (I wasn't there a year, I went there two Januarys in a row) which had their fun moments.

I'm not really into having a "party", I just like to do fun things and have the day be memorable. I just saw my friends last weekend because they came to one of my hockey games and we had dinner, so I was okay with not seeing most of them.

My cat cuddled with me twice this morning, which is unusual. It was like she knew. :)

I went grocery shopping in the morning....yay. Bought myself a cake and some flowers though. One of my friends met me around 11 for brunch at one of my favorite restaurants (Twisted Fork), which was excellent.

I had to work 1-8:30 so that was not so great. It wasn't terrible, though--could've been worse. Every time I looked at my phone, I had a text or a tweet or a Facebook message and it was so great to hear from everyone. I also had my mom and brother call me within like the same five minutes--called my mom back on my break and my brother after work.

I got off at like 7:50--we were slow and my boss wanted to send someone home, so he let it be me since it was my birthday!

I had two packages from my mom waiting for me.



And I opened the package my brother sent home with me at Christmas.

The stuff that was in both of them, plus two cards from an aunt/uncle and one of my grandmas:


My brother gave me a pig whisk, a chef brush, this ridiculous Brian Trottier coin he found in his closet from a 1998 Penguins game, some awesome Tupperware measuring cups, and the best shirt ever--it's a cat kneading bread. LOVE IT!

My mom gave me everything else: kitchen container (I asked for it), the book Hugo was based on, Swiss Army knife, St Paul Almanac, Bananagrams, sports scrapbook paper (I don't even scrapbook but this paper makes me want to), a necklace, and the picture of a cat who looks like Puck.

I tried showing it to her, but she was much more interested in the tinsel that it was packaged in....she's a cat, what can I say.

Interested to see what 24 brings!

Looking Back

My resolution in 2011 was to visit one new place each week. I actually did okay for awhile, but then I stopped keeping track and pushing myself to keep it up. There were a couple places I planned a dozen times to visit, but never did (notably the State Capitol)

Some things I did accomplish:
Went to the Super Bowl with my mom in February.
Met some Wild players and got a bunch of autographs.
Traveled to Vancouver.
Visited three new NHL rinks (Vancouver, Chicago, and Pittsburgh).
Started playing goalie.
Survived a summer at home with my parents, but barely.
Got a long-term'ish job in Minnesota. Long term as in, it's the first job I've had without a specific end date, though it's not really a "real" job.
Adopted my cat.
Went to a one-day conference on my favorite topic of all time.
Kept up with this blog fairly well!


In terms of who I am and figuring out what I want in life, it was kind of a stagnant year. I was happy for most of it, though, content with day to day life. I think some of the biggest things for me were this fall, when I returned to Minnesota and adopted Puck, got my Minnesota license and registered my car here. I made a declaration that I was gonna stay here for awhile. Who knows if that'll pan out or not...

Loving Both (25/30)

People enjoy dichotomous arguments, like cats vs dogs, Kindle vs. paper books

What I don't get is, why do you have to choose? Why do you have to be a cat person or a dog person, can't you be a both person? Why do you have to read books ONLY electronically or ONLY on paper?


I love each of these guys just as much as the other. I actually feel like I appreciate them each more for their contrast to each other and uniqueness. Bentley is so big and thick furred, curious in a "I'm gonna thrust my head in your shopping bag" kind of way, and easily excitable. Puck is dainty and quiet and curious in an observing way, and likes to dart around. But they're both super goofy (one just likes to think she isn't), and they both like to be around their people. And neither of them want to be petted 100% of the time.

In conclusion, I love both of them and I love being loved by both of them.




These are the two books I'm currently reading. My sister in law loaned me her Kindle until Christmas and it's going to be tough to give it back! I find it easy on the eyes, and I like that it's easy to read in bed, because I don't have to hold anything open (although I wish I could press the "next page" buttons with blinking or something), I like that it's portable and would be great for a vacation or plane trip. But how I could I ever abandon paper books completely? Especially since I own a ton that I haven't read yet...

A book is a book is a book, and I'll enjoy it however it comes to me.


Are there any arguments people have that you just don't get because you too love both?

The Ten Best Things about the Post-College Life

As promised, ten things I enjoy about not being a college kid anymore.

10. Having cable and Center Ice. Of course, the novelty has worn off a bit. And if I were still in college, I wouldn't want those things because of the distraction. But still.
9. Living in the Cities: having more choices for food, and being closer to stuff (like the X for hockey games), and knowing my way around (like whoa).
8. Being a lot closer to hockey rinks. Can't believe I used to drive a half hour just for some ice time. (own number because it's key!)
7. I have to say, I don't miss living with my friends. I didn't like having people around all the time, so it's kinda nice now--when someone wants to do something, I'm always up for it. In college I used to say no a lot because I was burned out on socializing.
6. Along with that: having my own space (and I LOVE my apartment) and not having loud neighbors.
5. That I don't have to pack up and move/visit home all the time, though I did it this summer--but won't again for awhile. Not that I hate home, but I got really tired of having my life in two places.
4. Easy access to the local library and having time to read fiction and what I want to.
3. Being able to bike and walk places.
2. Rarely having to do things I don't really want to do.
1. Above all, my cat. She is the most fantastic thing ever.

This is actually a neat comparison. If you look over the two lists, what I like about life now is about my living situation more than what I'm doing with my life--ie, I love everything about my apartment, but not my job. The things I miss most about school are mostly intellectual rather than social/physical needs (other than walking around campus). I mean, I don't miss the dorms, I miss the classes.

So....grad school?

Who I am now.

this photo actually has nothing to do with this post except that I bought these for work and I love them already

I went to an interview yesterday at a sporting goods store and it was totally awesome. I walked into the store and am greeted with a "hey, how was your weekend?" so I started rambling about my goalie scrimmage--lord, give me half a chance, EVER, and I will talk about hockey, especially my own hockey, so he asked and I'm about to interview for a sports job, I mean, come on, let me tell you about hockey. I didn't realize I was being interviewed then but I think, honestly, if I didn't have the job before I walked in, I got it right then.

Later, the first guy goes "your application was so impressive, you have all the things we're looking for, all the people skills that can't be taught." The other one goes "I overheard you talking to him, and I was like 'who is that, they are so dynamic and friendly and obviously passionate.'"

*full stop*

You know how wild that is? I used to be the shyest person--ever. I'd walk into a store and even if I did need help, I'd say no. Or if I said no and later needed help, I'd never ask. Small talk was a whole different language. I could answer questions shortly but never, ever ask them, could not figure out how a conversation starts, or keeps going, or ends. I had no idea how to represent myself fairly and often would just be like "yeah, totally" even when I didn't really think the same as the other person. It was basically impossible for me to disagree with someone, and it was hard for me to bring up a new subject.

I am not that girl anymore. I'm just not. Sometime between graduating from high school and graduating from college, things changed. I became friendly to strangers, I became confident, I became versed in small talk. More than anything, I started to understand how to be me. How to ask questions and not feel embarassed. How to disagree with someone and have it not be a big deal. How to word things so I don't come off as abrupt and rude and aloof, when really I was just insecure and shy and uncomfortable.

It'd be unfair to myself if I said I didn't know how it happened. Some of it, yes, was seemingly overnight. But when I think back to my freshman, sophomore, junior years in college--there were so many times I forced myself to go somewhere new, forced myself to ask a question, forced myself to talk to someone I didn't know, forced myself into a new hockey situation, and was proud of the smallest step towards confidence and social skills. I worked hard to get this ball rolling--though once I really got started, it was easier to keep the ball going, which I think is where the "overnight" feeling comes in. I stopped noticing every time I talked to someone, because it stopped being a big deal.

I've been feeling discouraged about looking for jobs (honestly I wasn't looking that long, but I was still frustrated) and feeling discouraged about my future, and thinking maybe I had to re-think who I am and want to be, and forgetting all the hard work I've done to be who I am today--or maybe feeling like it didn't matter. It wasn't paying off.

And it just did. I was able to fill out a couple questions on an application, and walk into a store and come out with a JOB because of, basically, who I am and how well I am able to represent myself.

I could not be a single ounce prouder of myself than I am right now. I rock, and I know it--and more importantly, I know exactly how to show it.